How is Macbeth established as a tragic hero in act one?

In the archetypal Scottish play ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a tragic hero to explore
the self-destructive nature of a patriarchal society, to serve as a warning to the nobility against the
crime of regicide and to flatter king James to maintaining the social order without persecuting
Catholics. Furthermore, Shakespeare shows which how violence can lead to moral failure paired with
the transient and fleeting influence of temptation, which is demonstrated through the limitations of
Macbeth’s power, echoing the Christian sentiments of the presence of devilish forces that tempt
mankind which are personified by the presence of the witches. However, the contrasting depictions
of temptation at the end of Act 1 forces the reader to question whether Macbeth’s path to
becoming a tragic hero is controlled by fate or if it’s his own free that take form in Macbeth’s
ambition.

At the start of the play Macbeth is established as a hero through his brave acts in battle which
initially propel him as the quintessential hero and foreshadows his eventual downfall and arguably
his descent into fulfilling the role as a tragic hero. In Act 1 Scene 2, Shakespeare utilises Macbeth as a
construct to portray him as the quintessential form of a Scottish soldier who epitomises toxic and
repressive masculinity, ultimately associating manhood with violence. Initially, Shakespeare
characterises Macbeth as “brave” which immediately propels Macbeth as a tragic hero as this
epithet paired with the revelation that he is highly skilled with a sword are both traits which fulfil the
role of the stereotypical hero and the ideal warrior as these traits are synonymous with heroism.
When the captain praises Macbeth when he say “all’s too weak for brave Macbeth”; the
juxtaposition between “weak” and “brave” foreshadow Macbeth’s transgression from “brave” to
“weak” as he is tempted by the witches blasphemous regime. Shakespeare explores how bloodshed
and violence is romanticised in a war setting when he utilises the vivid imagery of “smoked with
bloody execution” and “disdaining fortune”. Since Macbeth is fighting as a patriot, his actions are
considered honourable and righteous but when he acts in a similar ruthless manner later in the play,
he’s viewed as tyrannical and cruel. Shakespeare may have created this juxtaposition within
Macbeth’s character to criticise the culture of aggressive masculinity and honourable warfare.
Furthermore, Shakespeare doesn’t just describe it as an execution but a “bloody execution” which is
quite significant as it shows that not only is he efficient at killing but also that he aims for gore which
highlights his bloodlust and enforces this as Macbeth’s hamartia which leads to his eventual
downfall from his noble status as a brave warrior to a coward. Alternatively, Shakespeare’s use of
the metaphor “smoked with bloody execution” employs violence as a self-destructive force which
can lead to moral failure as Shakespeare combines “smoke” and “blood” which are recurring motifs
that are linked to Macbeth’s guilt. This imagery could be an allusion to the flaming swords in the
Bible where the angels and other representatives of Gods were granted flaming swords to protect
the garden of Eden after ‘the fall’ (Adam and Eve’s expulsion from heaven) and this is significant as it
brings about a parallelism of Macbeth being portrayed as a soldier of God as he fights on the side of
good and has God’s blessing due to the divine right of kings as he serves king and consequently God.
Alternatively this biblical parallelism to the flaming swords may symbolise Macbeth’s own downfall
to the fall of Adam and Eve who were once loyal to God but once Macbeth commits the act of
regicide he has acted against God similar to Adam and Eve and this parallelism would be
recognisable to the highly pious Jacobean audience who would have recognised that the crime of
regicide is inconceivable and it would act as a warning to the nobility or public that the usurpation of
the monarch would be going directly against God. Furthermore, Macbeth’s characterisation of being
“brave” and “like valour’s minion” shows how highly respected and admired Macbeth was by his
peers and this highlights how violence in battle is seen as righteous in this martial society as in the
Jacobean era, violence was widely synonymous with manhood and masculinity and things that could
be observed as violent and ruthless acts are linked with masculine ideas of honour and bravery
which was prevalent in the martial society where the epitome of masculinity was almost always
located in the engagement of battles. In Macbeth’s martial society, men are supposed to be noble
and strong leaders but the path to obtaining this respect and nobility manifests into Macbeth’s
hamartia: his bloodlust. Shakespeare could be implying that these Jacobean ideals of bravery and
honour are simply a façade to hide injustices and inevitably the glorification of violence leads to the
moral failure of Macbeth as his bloodlust seems to mirror his violent society and Macbeth is eager to
retain his masculinity as this is where his power lies. Overall, Macbeth’s transgression from strong,
noble warrior to a passive feminine coward later in the play show how his obsession with retaining
his masculinity which is expressive of his villainy and perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that
masculinity in the martial Jacobean society is inherently evil and toxic. Shakespeare presents
Macbeth as a hero as he fulfils the masculine role established by his martial society, but
Shakespeare’s use of violent and vivid imagery shows the aggressive male behaviour which looms
over the play and paths the way for the introduction of Macbeth’s hamartia.

Macbeth’s hamartia is effectively his unchecked ambition which arguably leads to his bloodlust and
his eventual downfall. Macbeth’s character is significant in terms of philosophy and morality, but his
personality is characterised by his ambitions and guilt as on one hand he is fixated on his future and
how he can advance it but on the other hand he is constantly looking over his shoulder, haunted by
his desires and his thoughts. Macbeth arguably exhibits this hidden hamartia for the first time when
he says “stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” which sheds light on his hidden desires and the
utilisation of the imperative shows Macbeth’s desperation for the knowledge of his future and
exemplifies how he is consummated by his ambition. This relentless urge of ambition may be
because in the Jacobean period, a rigid class system and intricate social hierarchy meant that people
belonging to the upper echelons of society valued their titles highly and this is demonstrated by
Macbeth’s pure awe at the possibility of further titles hence a more important position in the social
hierarchy. Furthermore, Macbeth utilises imperatives when he says “speak I charge you” which
exemplifies how Macbeth’s ambition and curiosity gets the better of him as he is longing to know his
future and his social position as in the Jacobean period the social hierarchy was quite strongly
enforced through the belief of the divine right of kings and the great chain of being. Macbeth’s tone
is quite significant as it highlights his confidence that he has gained from his social position and his
false sense of security as he believes that he has control over the witches and arguably himself
which foreshadows the reversal of roles when Macbeth is under the control of many benefactors
including Lady Macbeth, the witches and even the prophecy or the forces of fate. Macbeth’s clear
use of imperatives re-enacts the actions of a king and highlights how he’s already acting on his
ambition to become king and this can be argued to be the start of his eventual downfall as the seed
of ambition has been planted.

Shakespeare utilises the witches in Macbeth to give a form to the abstract concepts of temptation,
through religious symbolism and imagery, embodying the deeply powerful forces which govern
mankind. This transient and fleeting influence of temptation is also demonstrated, portraying the
limitations of Macbeth’s power but also mankind which echoes Christian sentiments of good’s
triumph over evil. In the witches’ declarations, they state Macbeth is “thane of Glamis” and he will
become “thane of Cawdor” and “king hereafter” and this prophecy acts as a catalyst to Macbeth’
ambition and this is significant as the witches never explicitly instruct Macbeth to kill King Duncan,
it’s Macbeth’s own ambition and longing for power in this martial society which source his bloodlust.
Alternatively, Macbeth’s hamartia, his unchecked ambition may be a product of his martial society
which celebrates warrior and the king (who’s at the top of the social hierarchy) so it could be argued
that it is the society that has prompted Macbeth to fulfil the role of the tragic hero but also arguably
the violent psychopath. Furthermore, a contemporary audience would regard ambition as a good
individualistic quality to possess but the Jacobean audience regards ambition to be sinful as most of
the Jacobean audience believed in the divine right of kings which outlined that everything in the
place has its rightful place , with God and the king on the top and everything else falling below this
and this order is divinely ordained hence it’s the word of god hence anyone trying to rise above their
given rank is believed to be going against God thus why ambition was equated to sin in the Jacobean
era.